a scream. Tommy turns around and folds me up in his arms. I scream again into his chest.
“It’s okay,” he whispers, stroking my hair.
The trembling subsides in a few minutes and my body goes limp. Tommy guides me to the the sofa and sits next to me with his arm on the back. Deshawn sits on the other side and holds out a new cup of water.
I use both hands and take a sip. The chaos inside quells and I take deeper breaths. “Thank you,” I say, my voice raspy and raw from the scream.
“No problem,” Deshawn says, squeezing my arm.
“No really. That—that—“ I stutter, taking another deep breath. “That’s never happened before.”
Jason bolts through the door and throws his arms around me. “Shit. I’m so sorry, Parker. I should have been here. Are you okay?” He brushes my hair back and holds it behind my head in his fingers.
“Jordan is the one that got hurt,” Deshawn chuckles. “Sara’s got a wicked right hook.”
“You guys don’t understand.” He cups my chin in his hand, forcing me to make eye contact with him.
“I saw him, J. I saw Simon.” Tears push their way up.
“No, Parker,” he says, his tone reassuring as he caresses my face. “He’s in prison, remember?”
I nod and take another deep breath. “I can’t believe I did that.” I drop my face on Jason’s shoulder.
“He had it coming,” Kiernan declares.
“I’m just sorry I wasn’t here,” Jason says.
“You can’t protect me twenty-four seven, J. And you can’t protect me from the past. One second Jordan is coming at me and the next Simon is. You can’t protect me from that.”
Swensen, Troy, and Garth return.
“You okay, Sara?” Troy asks.
“I will be. Thanks, guys.”
“Ditto,” Jason says. “Thanks for looking out for her.”
“We always have your back on and off the court, J. That includes Sara,” Derek states.
I look at Jason. “Have you told them?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not my story to tell, Parker.”
“Tell us what?” Peter asks.
“The Jerichos adopted me because my father abused me and my mother let it happen.” I summarize my experience with my family of origin without giving much detail or mentioning Simon raping me.
“You are my new hero,” Kiernan says.
“I’m no hero.”
“Do you know how many college girls would have let one of us deck Jordan instead of doing it themselves?” Chad asks.
“How many?”
“All the ones I know,” he answers.
“Same here,” Tommy says.
“Word,” Deshawn adds, raising his cup.
I rub my knuckles and wince.
“Let me see,” Jason says, inspecting my hand. My knuckles are red and swelling. “Is there any ice left in the cooler?” he asks.
Garth lifts the lid to check. “Yeah, man.”
Jason disappears into his room and returns with one of his t-shirts. He piles a few handfuls of ice in the middle of the shirt and wraps it up like a Chinese dumpling, placing the ice pack on my hand when he’s done.
We go to bed once everyone leaves. I’m nestled into him like a spoon.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be here for parties,” he suggests.
“I can’t hide from it, J. I decided to break out from being boxed in by my past and move up here with you. What’s the use of trying to get out of those old shadows if I hide from them?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
I turn over in the limited space on the twin bed. “You were helping friends. You have no reason to be sorry.”
“I know I can’t protect you all the time, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to. You are my life and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He tightens his hold and rolls me on my back, with his weight on his forearm and his opposite leg covering mine. I bring his head to mine and the tension from earlier releases as my mouth meets his.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
I wake the next morning with my arm draped over Jason and my head on his chest. His arm presses me close to him. My body is heavy and I’m more tired than last night. I start to sit up and he tugs me back.
He tilts his head to me. “How do you feel?”’
“Drained.”
He wraps his other arm around me and kisses my forehead. “Maybe a shower, breakfast, and nap in the car will help.”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
I fall asleep with a belly full of blueberry pancakes and bacon as Jason merges onto the freeway and wake up as we pass Batiquitos Lagoon, a couple of exits from home.